Fairness is crucial in a divorce involving children. However, parents are always conflicted between wanting their kids to have a healthy relationship with both of them and not wanting to lose any time. And this conflict can be more intense if the divorce is contested. One may be tempted to make unfair requests to revenge/punish the other parent.
Nonetheless, divorcing parents should make decisions in a child’s best interest. But is this always the case? Here is what you should know.
The court values the child’s best interest
If your soon-to-be ex-spouse has unfair requests and you are afraid of losing your parental rights, you should know that the court will only give orders that are in the child’s best interest. Divorcing parents who agree on major issues can create a plan without the court. However, if you and the other parent have a disagreement(s), the court should help you develop a fair parenting plan and custodial arrangement.
Examples of factors the court will consider are:
- The child’s needs
- The parenting history of each party
- The willingness and ability of the parents to co-parent
- The child’s reasonable preference if they are mature enough, and so on.
This means that it’s rare for divorcing parents to get away with unfair requests.
What about in the future?
While the court will give just orders, your co-parent may not observe them. They may make it difficult for you to spend time with the kids. For instance, they can deny you visitation rights or refuse to cooperate. Thus, it will help to be informed on what to do should this happen.
Not all divorcing parents make fair decisions, but most do. If you have a hard time with your co-parent, you should get legal guidance to make informed decisions.
